After much debate whether it would ever happen, Google will soon grant Android tablets running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or above, access to the Google Assistant. In addition, smartphones running Android 5.0 Lollipop will also gain the ability to use the assistant technology, which as of December, accounted for 26.3% of all those running the Android OS. This is a good move by Google, expanding the reach of a technology it wants in everybody’s hands and beyond.

This is an interesting development. When Google announced that the Google Assistant was rolling out to smartphones running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later, the company explained that there were no immediate plans to introduce the Google Assistant on tablets. This is good news for customers using a combination of an Android-powered smartphone and an Android-powered tablet; now it’s more likely both devices will have access to the same Google Assistant technology. Android tablets will have similar functionality compared with their smartphone cousins, meaning users can set reminders, add to a shopping list, and use the service to control other devices around the home. The Google Assistant is set to arrive on compatible tablets that use the English language primarily, beginning with those in the United States of America starting “in the coming weeks.”

Interestingly enough, the news from Google means that the 2013 Nexus 7 and later tablets will have official access to the Google Assistant, as will the 2012 Nexus 4. This means that customers still using the 2012 Nexus 4 running Android 5.1 Lollipop will soon have access to the Google Assistant. Android Lollipop may be an old operating system, and the Nexus 4 is over five years old, but it’s gaining access to one of Google’s newest and ever-evolving technologies. Compatible smartphones running Android Lollipop are set to gain the Google Assistant beginning “in the coming weeks” with Great Britain, India, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and Korea being supported with more to come. This is quite remarkable, as Google continues to find ways to provide new technology on older devices despite the mobile platform’s fragmentation problem.

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David has been using smartphones since the start of the industry but found his home with Android back in 2011 using an early Dell Stream device. Today, he uses the Nexus 5X and Sony Xperia Z Tablet as primary devices, but you'll also see him with his coffee cup and Chromebook.